Construction to begin on Sutherland car park as Premier inspects $30 million station upgrades

NSW Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian today joined local MPs at Sutherland Station to inspect progress on an accessibility upgrade and announced construction will begin next month on a 340-space multi-storey commuter car park.

“I am pleased to join our local MPs to announce construction will begin on the new car park in early August, providing at least 340 free and untimed commuter parking spaces within a short walk of Sutherland Station,” Mr Baird said.

“We know access to parking is a big factor when people are deciding how they’ll travel to work and that’s why the NSW Government is getting on with providing thousands of new parking spots right across the transport network."

Mr Baird also announced that a new lift at the station, which is currently under construction, will be open to customers by the end of the year.

“It’s fantastic to get out on-site and see these improvements, which will make an enormous difference to the community.”

Ms Berejiklian said the NSW Government is delivering more than $30 million worth of upgrades at Sutherland as part of the Transport Access Program, which includes the new car park, lift and recently completed interchange upgrade.

“We know Sutherland is a key interchange station for locals and commuters in the Illawarra, and these works will go a long way to help customers connect and move easily between different transport modes,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“The new interchange and lift will make Sutherland station more accessible for people with limited mobility like the elderly, disabled and parents with prams.”

Member for Menai Melanie Gibbons said the local community would be pleased to hear work will start next month on the much-needed car park.

“The Sutherland car park, which is expected to open in 2015, will feature stair and lift access between floors, security lighting and a network of CCTV cameras,” Ms Gibbons said.

“The ground floor of the car park – located at the corner of Robertson and Oxford streets – will be for Sutherland United Services Club patrons, with commuter parking located on the upper levels.

“These infrastructure upgrades are on top of a raft of improvements the NSW Government has delivered on the train network, including new and cleaner trains, better reliability, improved customer service and new Opal electronic ticketing.

Member for Heathcote Lee Evans said in addition to the interchange, lift and parking upgrade, work has started on delivering new canopies at nearby Heathcote, Caringbah, Como, Loftus and Miranda stations.

“The new steel canopies will provide better protection against sun and rain and reduce the risk of slips and falls, and will also encourage customers to spread evenly across the platforms, balancing carriage loads and help to keep trains running on time,” Mr Evans said.

“St George and Sutherland have been big winners under the Government’s Transport Access Program, with upgrades under construction, being completed or about to get underway right up and down the Illawarra Line.

“A major station upgrade is underway at Waterfall Station, with another huge upgrade announced at Oatley and Arncliffe and a commuter car park extension underway at Rockdale.”